Online Submission, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences (Feb 6, 2009)

Each year thousands of our nation's youth experience abuse and neglect severe enough to warrant their placement into states' foster care systems. The reasons for their entry into foster care include experiences or potential risk for physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, in addition to parental/caregiver neglect and maltreatment. The literature reports a correlation between foster care and special education. The purpose of the present study was to design and administer a survey to a national sample of teachers about their opinions of foster care youth, providers, and services, a pursuit that has otherwise not appeared in the literature. In doing so, the overarching aim was to collect descriptive statistics necessary for this first-time contribution. A follow-up goal was to determine areas of statistical significance throughout the survey and analyze them to note correlations. Analyses discussed in this article pertain to questions relative to behaviors. Implications about missed opportunities for behavioral interventions on behalf of this vulnerable population are identified and discussed. (Contains 1 table.)